The composer and poet are unknown.Pergolesi, Ciampi, and Resta are possible composers.

Nina came into the world on the London stage as part of a production by an Italian opera company in 1749. No composer was listed for this song in the program book of this production. Here we hear a man singing mournfully of his little Nina who has fallen asleep for three days “out of love,” and nothing can awaken her. I, personally, am not sure what to make of it. Is it a father or a lover singing? Is she lovesick, or is she dying? Whatever the exact meaning, this is a somber composition, containing a plea from a desperate man that his little Nina awaken.